Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A Long, Drawn-Out, but Interesting Post :)

Well, I can't believe it. It seems not a week ago that I complained I was not keeping up this blog as I ought, and here I am posting so often you haven't a chance to keep up with me. :D Although it is generally against my creed to post twice in one day, I saw this Character Interview on Whisperings of the Pen and knew it had my name on it. After all, with no chores today, since I'm the birthday girl, I could dabble in something so silly as interviewing my own characters. But you know? I found out some interesting things through this interview. :) For instance, I never knew before that the Captain had a cat and a canary, that Ann Company was quite so attached to her donkey, or that she played the bagpipes. The bagpipes just sprung to mind when I was thinking of what instrument she played...she needed something weird, and I was *not* about to make her a tuba-player. :P Anyway, enjoy.

Do you want a hug?Frank: As a general rule I prefer handshakes.Maggie: Of course, dear.Tucker: Long as you don't mind the jam.Dot: Hug!Cora: If you're giving it.Dorie Ann: You'll only rumple my skirt.Ann Company: Are you sure? I hug hard as a bear.Capt. Boniface: I'd say so.

Do you have any kids?Frank: Maggie and I are the proud parents of Dot and Tuck.Cora: No ma'am.Dorie Ann: Of all the nerve! I don't see why you even bother to ask such a thing of a young lady of my class.Ann Company: You kiddin'? Eulalie's the only kin I got `sides Pa.Me: Who's Eulalie?Ann Company: That there donkey.Capt. Boniface: No, no children. Addie, I been faithful to ye're memory.

Have you ever killed anyone?Frank: Never.Maggie: What a horrid thought!Tucker: I accidentally...well, kinda on purpose set traps to kill the sea-mice when we first came to Puddleby Lane.Dot: Cowa, me's hungwy!Cora: I would never dream of killing a fellow human unless I was defending my family against attack.Dorie Ann: Kill? As in, like, dead? Some of the fellows have called me drop-dead gorgeous.Ann Company: I don't generally hold with killin' unless it was a bandit.Capt. Boniface: Life at sea is rough and unpredictable as th' ocean itself. There are mutinies and crimes that can't go unpunished.

Do you love anyone?Frank and Maggie at once: "Maggie! Frank!"Tucker: Mommy and Dad and Dot and Cora and Captain Boney-face.Dot: Me wuv's evvybody!Cora: Franki, Maggie, the children...and my hero.Me: Your...hero?Cora: (blushing) Yes...wherever he is.Dorie Ann: Dozens. Or they love me...that's more like it. What's not to love about a beautiful Beaumont girl?Ann Company: Eulalie, Pa, and Cora.Capt. Boniface: Maggie and the children...and Addie.

What is your job?Frank: Railyway man, but until recently, a new car salesman.Maggie: seamstress.Tuck: clam scraper, treasure-hunter, pirate and...what was that one you called me, Cora?Cora: A flibberty-gibbet.Tucker: Oh, yeah.Cora: I'm the unofficial caretaker of Tuck and Dot. And I help Maggie with the housework and plain sewing. I'd love to be a famous author.Dorie Ann: Author? She's a nanny. A servant. Quite beneath anyone's notice, let alone mine.Ann Company: Leave her alone! I'd like to see what you can do."Me: What *do* you do? What job do you have?Dorie Ann: Is Queen of Beauty and Charm a job? No? How about Official Miss Amazing?Capt. Boniface: I used to be a sea captain, but now I keep up the Bonnie Addie and help Flounder and his gal up in town.Me: So is Flounder Ann Company's father?Ann Company: Shore is.

Favorite Season?Frank: Summer.Maggie: Thanksgiving--the in between of fall and winter.Tucker: Just about any time I can be outside without my shoes and socks.Dot: Cowa, me's hungwy!Cora: Autumn.Dorie Ann: Spring--that's when the Paris collection comes out.Ann Company: Winter. Me an' Eulalie an' Pa are cozy as a den full of possums come Christmas.Capt. Boniface: Spring. My rheumatism isn't so bad and the honeysuckle reminds me of Addie--her eyes shining like stars.

Who is your best friend?Frank: I don't have many close friends.Maggie: Cora. Who is better than a sister for company?Tucker: Cora!Dot: Cowa!Cora: Maggie, Ann Company...my books and writing.Dorie Ann: I'm independent. Who needs friends when they've got talent, brains, and a stunning figure?Ann Company: Eulalie and Cora.Capt. Boniface: Maggie's children and that pretty slip of a girl, Cora. Flounder's good for a game of checkers now and then when he ain't squeezed up in his ticket booth snorin'.

Hobbies?Frank: Dancing with my beautiful wife.Maggie: gardening.Tuck: Cora says Mommy has a green thumb. I like catching sea-mice, digging for treasure, playing at bein' poor, and exploring with Cora and Dot.Cora: Reading, writing, and exploring.Dorie Ann: reading fashion magazines.Ann Company: teaching Eulalie new tricks, racing the sandpipers, and play my bagpipes.Me: Wait. Bagpipes? Where'd that come from?Ann Company: The Cap'n gave `em to me.Me: Aha.Capt. Boniface: Sorry about that. She isn't half bad on `em now. I like buildin' model ships and fixing up the Bonny Addie....and talkin' to Tucker.

What are you going to do when this tag is over?Frank: Take a long walkMaggie: Bake a cake. Lemon-iced.Tucker: Lick the bowl.Dot: Lick!Cora: Go for a sea-glass hunt...or rummage around in The Other House.Dorie Ann: Paint my nails, then play tennis.Ann Company: Fix Tuck's fishing net.Capt. Boniface: Feed Napoleon Maximilian The Great.Me: Who is...?Capt. Boniface: My ship's cat.Me: Oh! I wasn't sure you had any pets.Capt. Boniface: Yep. Old 'Poleon and m' cabin boy, Columbus.Me: Another cat?Capt. Boniface: No, no. Columbus is a canary.Me: I see. Pleased to meet them both.

Are you good or bad?Frank: I try to be a good husband and father...I'm a little impulsive at times.Maggie: We can never be perfect but--Cora: But if anyone could be, it'd be Maggie.Tucker: Most of the time I'm good...except when I'm not.Dot: Good, good, good!Cora: I do try so hard, and I am learning.Dorie Ann: It all depends on your definition of good. It's no fun to be a plaster of Paris saint.Ann Company: I'm a dutiful daughter and a fast friend, but I do feel fiercely about things.Capt. Boniface: She's a right fiery girl, that Ann Company. As for me, I'm a salty sea dog, but the good Lord is my compass and He steers my course straight.

What is your greatest fear?Frank: That I'll fail my family.Maggie: That something will happen to me or Frank...or both of us.Tucker: That the waves will knock over Dot, or that we'll have to leave Puddleby Lane.Dot: Doggies.Cora: A life without adventure and my family.Dorie Ann: Those horrid hobos that beg for scraps.Ann Company: The city.Capt. Boniface: A journey without my bearings or a night near shore so dark and foggy we can't see the rocks.

What do you think of your parents?Tucker: They're swell.Dot: Me wuvs Mommy!Cora: Frank and Maggie are the closest thing I have to parents now.Dorie Ann: Papa's a darling but Mom is a bear! She wouldn't let me dye my hair last week.Ann Company: Pa's the best feller within a dozen miles...exceptin' Mr. Williams, and the Cap'n and Tuck.Capt. Boniface: I loved my parents, but father died at sea and Mama never quite got over it.

Was this interview fun?Frank: I've enjoyed it. Sounds like something Corie would make up.Maggie: Very pleasant.Tucker: Golly, yeah!Dot: Fun!Dora: I did so enjoy it, ma'am.Dorie Ann: It was all right.Ann Company: Shore as shootin'!Capt. Boniface: I had a fine time. You're a very sensible gal.Me: Thank you. You're the first to think so.

Do you have any weaknesses?Frank: Like I said, I'm impulsive.Maggie: French lace.Tucker: Bein' tied up at stake when we play...I ain't strong enough to untie Cora's knots.Cora: Heroic deeds...I pine for adventure and novelty.Dorie Ann: New clothes. But I think that's a strength of mine--looking presentable, unlike some people I could mention.

Do you care what others think of you?Frank: Only what Maggie thinks of me.Maggie: If Frank's happy, that's all that matters.Tucker: I'd like `em to think I'm a man, not a boy.Dot: Fink?Cora: I'm afraid I do. Especially what other girls think of me.Dorie Ann: Everyone knows I'm fabulous. It's so completely obvious, right?Ann Company: Naw, I never did hold with other folks' opinions.Capt. Boniface: I want my crew to respect me. So long as I've got that, I'm satisfied.

Your theme song?Frank: Hmmm....Maggie?Maggie: All Those Endearing Young Charms.Tucker: Yankee Doodle Dandy.Cora: Something sweet and dreamy.Dorie Ann: Any song about a beautiful woman fits me to a T.Ann Company: All the Blue Bonnets.Capt. Boniface: The Water is Wide.

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I'm Rachel Heffington; in varying degress, that will mean a dreamer, a writer, a people-lover, and a great many other things. I write chiefly because I read, and I read chiefly because the love of Story is writ on my soul and I cannot escape it. I hope I can inspire readers with an ache for that one Story of which we are each a part. I released my debut novel, Fly Away Home (available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble online) in February, 2014, and my short Cinderella retelling (The Windy Side of Care) is scheduled to be released in the Five Glass Slippers collection published by Rooglewood Press in June.
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